Antibiogram and Phenotypic Characterization of E. Coli Isolated from Nigeriaâs Paper Currencies obtained from Butchers in Ebonyi State

This study was designed to phenotypically characterize and determine the antibiotic resistance patterns of E. coli isolated from Nigeria’s paper currencies obtained from butchers in Abakaliki meat market, Ebonyi State. A total of 98 samples of naira notes in different denominations (N5 to N1000) were randomly collected from butchers and were analyzed using standard microbiological procedures. The isolated bacterial pathogens were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility test on Mueller-Hinton agar (Oxoid, England) by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion technique. A total of 7 (7.1%) Escherichia coli isolates were obtained in which two exhibited multi-drug resistance trait. The Escherichia coli isolates were highly resistant to ceftazidime (85.7%). The highest susceptibility frequency was observed for ciprofloxacin (100%), imipenem (100%), meropenem (100%) and ofloxacin (100%). There was a statistically significant difference in the mean percentage resistance and mean percentage susceptibility (P˂0.05) of the E. coli isolates. The multiple antibiotic resistance indices (MARI) of the Escherichia coli isolates ranged from 0.14-0.43. These high MARI values might be an indication of abuse and misuse of antibiotics. Escherichia coli can cause serious communityacquired infections. Hence, appropriate hygienic measures should be adopted while handling naira notes.